Kroll Bond Rating Agency Releases Business Development Company
Overview

July 18, 2014 11:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) released an overview discussing Business
Development Companies (BDCs). BDCs were established by an Act of
Congress in 1980 to help increase the flow of capital to startups,
developing, and/or small or mid-sized privately owned U.S. companies,
which typically have outgrown the abilities of a community bank, yet are
still too small to directly access the capital markets. The industry
remains relatively small, when compared to traditional lenders like
banks or non-bank finance companies, with roughly 45 publicly traded
active BDCs and approximately $50 billion in assets at the end of the
first quarter of 2014. However, given their ability to provide capital
to firms that may not have efficient access to bank loans or the capital
markets, BDCs have been growing tremendously and a number of new
entrants have recently come to market.

KBRA believes that Business Development Companies’ (BDCs) share of
business lending, which has strengthened significantly over the past 2
years, is poised for continued growth. The U.S. economy continues along
a path to a modest recovery and most traditional lenders are retreating
from the small business market. First, the number of startups, small and
midsize companies continues to rise, creating significant opportunities
for BDCs. Further, regulatory changes for banks, other traditional
middle market lenders, and CLOs will also drive growth in this sector.
KBRA anticipates that our coverage of the BDC sector will continue to
grow, along with the expansion of the industry.

To view the report, Business Development Company (BDC) Overview, please
visit www.kbra.com.

About Kroll Bond Rating Agency

KBRA was established in 2010 by Jules Kroll to restore trust in credit
ratings by creating new standards for assessing risk and by offering
accurate, clear and transparent ratings. KBRA is registered with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized
Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). In addition, KBRA is recognized
by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as a
Credit Rating Provider (CRP).